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The UK's pre-cursor election.

It seems utterly bizarre and a major waste of resources given that there is to be a General Election on 8th June that the local government elections already planned for yesterday were not postponed. But they went ahead. Will the results encourage complacency or be a call to action?

Local elections across England, Wales and Scotland mean that, in total, there are almost 5,000 seats being contested. Of those by far the majority are in the hands of Labour and the Conservatives with Labour holding slightly more. The elections are for Councils which decide on local matters ranging from roads to schools, from planning to licensing and many more. There are also elections for mayors, outside London which has its own timetable for such matters. Not all councils are involved in this round of elections.

Local elections are, theoretically, fought on local issues but there is a strong feeling that this election will be a dry run for the national elections in a month's time. Indeed, as we mentioned previously, it is likely that Labour will focus on local issues in the general election because that is where, historically, they have been strongest.

If the Conservatives get a strong showing in the local elections, it may lead to complacency. No matter what the result, it will spur on Labour either by giving them hope or by making them fear a wipe-out in Westminster.

Unlike national elections, results tend to drift in slowly. But in early counting, the Conservatives have taken a number of seats that they might not have expected to win from Labour.